“I believe if we had not been caught up in the wreck with the 39 car, we almost certainly would have had a better finish. I don’t exactly know what happened other than he just came up into us, but our group battled hard and we made the best situation out of it. We had a decent car for the damage, but couldn’t totally overcome it. That’s just about a perfect summary of our season.”
“With all of the bad luck we have had this season, I am glad this season’s over. On a positive note, as a whole, we were competitive more times than not. We just need to continue to get better and capitalize when we can. It was a fun year; I love the guys on my team and couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to have my back. I’m looking forward to next year.”
Starting the race from the 34th position, McClure was scored in the 30th position by the time one full circuit was made around the speedway. Before the field could make another lap, however, the team’s spotter, Stevie Reeves, informed the team that another competitor, who had been racing inside of the No 14 car, slid up into the orange and black Chevrolet, forcing it into the outside wall. After visiting pit road three times under the ensuing caution to fix the damage on both front fenders, McClure was sent back on track in the 38th position.
When the event’s second caution flag waved for debris on lap 13, McClure returned to pit road so the team could make certain the fenders were still clearing all tires, as well as make a small chassis adjustment as the car was showcasing a loose handling condition on entry. As McClure was exiting the pits in the 36th position, the field was taking the green. Although the team hoped to remain on the lead lap before the scheduled competition caution flag on lap 35, the deficit was too great as the leaders overtook McClure just before the caution was displayed. After visiting pit road for four tires, fuel, and a track-bar adjustment, the No. 14 Chevrolet returned to the track in the 34th position.
As the race continued, the car’s handling improved on the exit of the turns but was still too tight on entry. As such, when the event’s fourth caution flag waved on lap 92, McClure, who was scored in the 31st position, visited pit road for tires with an air-pressure adjustment, fuel, and another chassis adjustment. A quick stop by the Hefty Racing® crew placed McClure in the 29th position for the restart.
When the race resumed on lap 136, McClure once again began working his way through the field, and by lap 140, he was once again scored in the 28th position. Since the car’s handling was much improved over the last run, the team decided to not visit pit road when the caution flag again waved on lap 146. When the race resumed on lap 152, McClure slipped to the 31st position as he radioed the crew of a possible flat tire as the car was, “all over the place.” As the team prepared to change tires should the car enter pit road, both Reeves (spotter) and Cogswell (crew chief) informed McClure that no smoke could be seen and all tires looked inflated, so the team opted to not visit pit road and hope for a caution. When a caution did occur on lap 174, McClure was on a lap by himself. With nothing to gain by visiting pit road, Cogswell instructed the driver to stay on track to receive the wave around, which would allow the team to gain a lap back when the race restarted on lap 179.
The event’s eight caution flag waved two laps later for a two-car accident, which allowed McClure to visit pit road for four scuffed tires and fuel. Scored in the 29th position when the race resumed on lap 186, the TriStar Motorsports team was able to hold the position for the final circuits of the 2011 Nationwide Series season.
- Team McClure Inc. Press Release
